You Know
by sickphilosophy
Summary: In a normal school day, there are 6 subtle actions of Ichigo that leave Rukia with these unfathomable human feelings.


Ichigo, Rukia... Bleach itself is just brilliant. I like making sure everything is in character. Why ruin something so extraordinary? Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach

* * *

Six times.

...  
...

Six.

It happens like this.

Believe it or not, You get to first period relatively early, which is _extremely_ impressive for you. A science test is about to land on your desk in fifteen minutes, and no, you haven't studied. So here you are, sitting at your desk cramming whatever you can into your memory in the next ten minutes.

_Ten minutes. _What you could have done in ten minutes- slept a little longer, met up with Inoue, eat breakfast. Oh yes, _eat breakfast. _The growl in your stomach can already be heard. Wearing a gigai is stupid. Feeling hunger is stupid. This test is stupid. Which is funny, because the results of the test will probably imply you're stupid.

You skim through the first two chapters in your book as a gaggle of giddy girls ingress the classroom. With half a mind, you attempt to interpret their conversation:

"What did Kurosaki-san do?"

"Well, the ladder was broken so he lifted me up when I couldn't reach the book. And, God. He's completely toned I can tell you that."

"Kurosaki-sama shooed away those perverts when they harrassed me."

The giggles quickly transform into sighs. And then into whispers. Because footsteps can be heard- the sound of steady strides that can only be _his._

The room defuses into a remote silence as the orange-haired boy steps into the class, a book bag slung over his shoulder and his hand in his pocket. The rest of the guys in class roll their eyes at the hitches of breath heard as _he_ takes a boring glance at _them. _You let out a long, exasperating exhale and all you can say in your head is- _God, kill me. _

You are immune to people like Ichigo, people who are unbelievably beautiful. You are a god. And all gods- even death gods- are notoriously stunning. Your brother is beautiful. Your captain is beautiful. Your redheaded bestfriend is strikingly attractive. And yes, even you have received some flattering praise. So a handsome mortal like _him _is nothing new for you.

_But still._

You hear the taps of his steps approaching, and after one quick glance to his shoes, your eyes shoot back to the page you've been scanning. You. Must. Study. Study, study, study. You dismiss the fluttering in your stomach. Because, really. You are Kuchiki Rukia- a 13th division shinigami of a noble family clan, and humanly feelings like the unrest in your stomach is trivial. So you ignore the feeling of his eyes bearing down on your shoulders. And as he walks by you, you tell yourself not to look up. Because really,_ who_ _cares _about-

"Rukia."

And you can't help it. Just like the rest of the girls, your breath hitches midway at the sight of him. It was only an hour ago he shook you awake to get ready for school, which was followed by a groggy and cranky fight to stay under the sheets of his sisters' room. And you swore that when you'd see him at school, you'd both continue the common, unrelenting battle that is your friendship.

But he does nothing.

And you decide to provoke him no further. You catch his gaze, letting it go just as quickly. And while he turns to look somewhere new, he tosses a white paper bag your way and adds in such a flat and factly tone, "You didn't eat."

He walks off, and you can hear the huffs of envious girls glaring at you and your "present." But honestly, you couldn't care less as you tear away the paper to reveal a sesame and poppy dressed bagel with cream cheese. How western. This was so Ichigo of him- A definite Ichigo breakfast. You're not going to thank him, and you know that's how he wants it. You turn the page of your science book and read the first sentence that catches your eye:

_Every action has an equal and opposite reaction._

...

...

Five.

He's enjoying himself too much. And you hate him for it.

"Kurosaki-kun! Kuchiki-san! How are youu this morniing? Oh earthshine ohh earthshiiiine!"

Her transition from that awful made-up song to her twirling around the class does give you a small taste of joy inside. But not enough to do what you are about to do right now. You take a quick look at his lips, which are bit tightly to surpress a laugh, and you reluctantly proceed...

"Inoue-san I feel so loovely soo lovely ohh, ohhh!" You rise on your tiptoes and twirl just as exuberantly along with her. You raise genuine smiles among your classmates, who are always expecting this kind of behavior from you. To a few on earth, you are Kuchiki Rukia- the tough, bold, and eloquent death goddess from SSS. But to the rest of them, and to this class especially, you are the perky, girly, delicate flower Kuchiki-san who enjoys sunshine and fruit pies and might as well be sisters with Orihime-san. You love making people smile and- oh yes! You have just promised to bake them all cupcakes tomorrow! Full of happiness and warmth-

Ichigo knows better.

And that's why, watching your little spiel of hugs and rainbows, you're killing him. He is _dying_ to laugh, and your death glare at him between twirling only marinates his potential laughter. Orihime tells you to shimmy. And you shimmy. Shimmy, shimmy, shimmy. And now he is in a fit of hysterics. He can't breathe, he can't breathe. And his face is turning red and his smile_ cannot_ be omitted any longer.

"Pfft..."

And soon he breaks.

"Dammit, Rukia!" He spits out in his laugh. It is a warm and smoldering laughter, but it lasts only for three seconds. Literally, three seconds. Because he has just landed in an unwanted spotlight, and the class has suddenly fallen into a quiet stare, which includes you, and you cannot believe you have just brought him to do such a thing.

Because rarely does Kurosaki Ichigo laugh.

...

...

Four.

Maybe he's not aware of it, but you sure are.

Her brown eyes shift at his movements and her chest heaves every moment he turns her direction, even when it's not to acknowledge her, but someone near her.

You are perched upon the closed sill of the classroom window, leg barely brushing against Ichigo's hip. Wherever he looks, your eyes follow. Because he is gathering the usual guys for lunch, and you are waiting for him to take you all out to the school roof. But after a while, when he is calling out names to catch their attentions, you watch _her. _

Because she is watching _him_, eagerly waiting for him to say her name.

When Ichigo laughed, the first one to fall into silence was Inoue, slightly because she was trying to savor his friendly and powerful laugh. But you know she kept quiet in hope. Hope that he was laughing at her twirling and singing. And you know her heart fell when she realized he was laughing at _you_. Because only you make him laugh like that, only you can make him laugh at all. And you watched as she eventually continued to spin on, singing quietly and dancing with much less gusto.

And you watch now.

In a few short seconds, she takes her eyes off him to look at you. She watches you, and then at your legs as Ichigo unintentionally, but naturally, brushes his hip bone against your bare skin. And her eyes flicker at the fact that it's _no big deal_ for him and you. Because you are _the_ Kuchiki Rukia. You have "_made the rain stop_" in his life. And you can't help but pity her. She adores you. You know that. But she will give anything to be that patch of your bare skin. She will give anything to take your place.

Maybe she has romanticized his relationship with you a little too much. But you know. You know that the idiot sets you apart. You know that the common graze of your bodies is rare to her. You know, that while he brings you breakfast, laughs at you, and stays close by, Inoue's daily interaction with him involves sitting in her seat waiting to hear his voice call her name.

Ichigo may not be aware.

"Inoue!"

But you know.

...

...

Three.

He has a scent. Cinnamon and spearmint.

The teaching methods of human schools, although not as strict, are relatively the same teaching methods practiced at the Shinigami Academy. You receive books. You read. You answer. You write. When the Kuchiki Clan adopted you, you were relieved from the Shinigami Academy and graduated immediately. In a way, you never finished school. And so being a Karakura High School student gives you a sense of insurance. Writing and studying is nothing new.

But _recess _is a brave new world as far as you're concerned.

This is the time to eat, to relieve the pressures of arithmetic and language class, to gossip and flirt and other human actions.

But your favorite reason is to eat.

Your group of friends consists of Ishida, Orihime, Tatsuki, Keigo and Mizuiro, Chad, Ichigo and a bunch of other friends whose names you've secretly forgotten. They look suspiciously at Ichigo, because he pulls out two lunches and hands you one. He looks around confused, but quickly understands and comments, "I must feed it or it attacks."

You ignore him, because he does that. He gives the class a reason to question your feminine, chipper personality. Ripping his nose off or breaking his rib cage will not help you either. So you dismissively wave him off and giggle, "Oh, Kurosaki-san you tinkle me pink!"

"_Tickle _me pink. Eat your food, Rukia."

Laughs arise and the usual conversations begin. You can't help but sour at how cruel he can be. Seriously, it's a lot of work to pretend to be someone you're not. He should be helping you! He should publicly praise you for being so sweet and so girly! But no, he leaves you to swim for yourself, and you bitterly curse him off as you push off the lid of his bento box.

And for the second time today, you lose yourself mid-breath.

Because in the jade green box, egg whites are radiating off the yellow yolk of a boiled egg. Sliced cucumbers slide down the egg pattern like a stem. And the rice and sliced salmon are imbellishments to... a _daisy._ With your favorite foods, he's made a daisy. In your peripheral, his lips curl _slightly _upward and his eyes lighten. You look up, because you like it when he looks like that.

"I gave Yuzu the eggs and cucumbers. She came up with the daisy thing. It's pretty."

And as predicted, you have an audience again. They watch on as Ichigo reveals a pair of chopsticks from the plastic bag and hits your forehead with it before handing it over. You know he doesn't like it when you thank him, because he believes he still owes you. Every time he feeds you, buys you clothes, treats you to whatever new thing you want to buy, these are just ways to "pay you back." Because you've _changed his world_. The least he can do is share it with you.

You thank him anyway.

He leans over you and you swear, you _swear _he smells like cinnamon and spearmint. He speaks softly in a platonic, but endearing way.

"Don't. I don't want it."

"Kuchiki-hime! Is Kurosaki-sama taking you to the fair tonight?"

...

...

Two.

This is the type of thing he should just shut up about.

The Karakura Light Festival happens twice a year, one to say farewell to summer, and one to say farewell to winter. With the last patches of snow relinquished from the recent heat, it is time to celebrate the prospects of spring. So yes, Ichigo is taking you to the fair tonight. No, he will **definitely not **dress up in a kimono and sandals. A miniscule part of you doesn't want to either. But to pass a chance to dress up is completely out of character to "Kuchiki-san." And besides, in the end you really really want to.

So after school, when he takes Yuzu and Karin out to buy materials downtown, he drops you off at Ishida's house. Because Ishida has offered to put his sewing skills to the test, and create a kimono so magnificent it will take your breath away.

"No friggin' way."

You and Ishida walk back to the Kurosaki Clinic, where he is waiting at the front with his sisters and father. He is obviously the wet blanket in his family, clad in his jeans and a dark sweater. And when he sees you, he scowls.

You are wrapped in a violet silk kimono. Hair pinned up prior, but now some strands have loosely escaped the clips. You are tied in the middle with a red obi and, to his dismay, surrounded by dozens of silver Chappys.

Although Ishida is gleefully commented on his work, Ichigo repeats softly.

"No friggin' way."

You think this is a compliment and you are about to say something when Ichigo begins to kick Ishida's shins repeatedly.

"Baka! I told you not to encourage her with the rabbit thing!"

"Kurosaki, the time called for it, alright? Give me my fan back!"

Ichigo smacks the back of the Quincy's head with the fan before shoving it back in his hands, muttering under his breath, "She's not going to take the damn thing off."

...

...

One.

He commends you on this.

The first thing you do when you get to the festival is look up. That is what you do. And his head turns your way to watch you do it. He's expected it, because he knows a ferris wheel was being assembled, as well as a drop tower and a slingshot ride and he praises you for that thing that makes you so... Rukia.

You love heights.

But you control yourself and when you find your classmates, another human feeling arises in your stomach. The sun is gone and the lights of the festival are blazing and the laughter of your friends gives you a sense of- giddiness.

They want to pair off and ride _The TUNNEL of LOVE. _And Ichigo's thinking _Oh, hell no. _So he pulls away from the crowd and promises to come back later. And as you're prepared to enter a boat with a male classmate, you remember Ichigo is your only means of money. So yes, _that_ is the reason you run off and follow him. _Sorry Keigo, you have to find someone else._

You find him at the heart of the festival, standing in front of a booth and eyeing the hand-made crafts of various local artists. "Oi baka! I need money!"

He turns around and looks at you with eyes that... These are the eyes of Ichigo when he is alone. They are kind and lonely and friendly. But his lips are turned down into its known place. And he teases you, "If it's for that tunnel of love thing, no way."

He grabs the collar of your robe and rubs the silk against his fingers. "Rukia, you are taking this off IMMEDIATELY when we get home. I hate your bunny fetish."

"His name is Chappy, you imbecile. He is my beautiful insignia. And it's not a fetish, it's a perpetual love."

"Can't you perpetually love something else? Like this." He picks up a black butterfly hairpiece off the table and gives the artist a few yen. "_This_," he says genuinely, "is a beautiful insignia. This is what you were when I first saw you, ya know?" He pushes it into your palm.

"This is Rukia."

The constant flicker of festive lights illuminate his jaw line, and you can't help but stare at how _distinct_ it is, how after everything he just said, it's back to its gentle scowl. Most of the time, Ichigo is mean to you. Very mean. But he is _always_ kind. He is so very, truly kind. And you are angry at how he believes he is just_ paying you back_. Because you want him to care for you out of desire to, not because a debt is being paid. You want to tell him, _No, Ichigo. There is no debt. You owe me nothing. _

He smirks at your dazed expression, and hands you a generous amount of dollars. As you reach out to receive it, he catches your hand and unexpectedly kisses your fingers, before he whispers,

"_Thank you_."

He turns and walks, and you think you should go back to the Tunnel of Love to find someone else. Let Ichigo be. Because you have your money and he has his solitude, and you're about to walk away when he turns and calls out.

"C'mon, let's get you on that ferris wheel."

Another human feeling surges through your bones.

...

...

tell me which one out of the six was your favorite.

I hope I stayed true to the authentic Bleach feeling.  
Please, please, please review. I'd really like to know how this story affects you. Criticism, praise, flames are all accepted.

And in the end, I hope you enjoy this story. Thank you :)


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